Colors Of The Wind
by BlazeTheDemidragon
Summary: The BloodClan of the new was forced to merge with the clans at the Lake to gain a new home. But Bloodfang decided to continue life as a rouge, leading many others with him. When a ThunderClan apprentice starts showing interest for him and his group, will Bloodfang finally learn there isn't much of a difference between him and a ThunderClan warrior?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

It was a brilliantly colored morning when a brown tom-cat rose out of his makeshift den. He was a little fearsome-looking, with his battered pelt and the teeth implanted in his collar, but he took a deep breath of the morning air and sighed. As if summoned by his rising, more cats emerged, mostly male, and all bearing similar collars.

One cat padded to where the first had rose, dipping his head in respect. Unlike the first, he was only brown with a darker underbelly and a green collar studded with teeth. "Morning, Bloodfang" he greeted the battered tom.

Bloodfang turned his dark blue eyes on the tom, and nodded, his face expressionless. "Morning to you as well, Rat."

All of the cats were thin as a result of a particularly harsh leaf-fall, but their coats were as groomed as they could be considering the circumstances. Bloodfang knew he'd have to lead them into the city before leaf-bare set in, or they would continue to starve. The group was rather small, but large enough to take down most threats. Bloodfang sat at the foot of his den, and licked a paw, intending on fixing his tangled fur a suitable amount before he went off to hunt.

A black tom with swirls of light gray approached Bloodfang. His collar was orange, unlike Rat's. "Bloodfang, I caught the scent of many rabbits yesterday, near the place where the Rock Feet live. I could take four other cats and provide a few rabbits for food, if you wish."

Bloodfang thought for a moment, then nodded once. "Yes, that would be an excellent idea. Carry on, Ebony."

Ebony wandered off, leaving the camp. Rat approached him again. "I could take a group out to the city to see what food will be available when we move again, and also to scout out a new camp, if you'd like."

This time, Bloodfang didn't hesitate to nod his approval. "Excellent idea, Rat. That will do us much good."

Rat shot him a smile, and began to choose a small party of cats to accompany him. Bloodfang continued to groom himself. Most of the cats had gone out to hunt. The others who remained were mostly guarding the bit of leftover prey they had from the day before. Bloodfang finally rose to his paws, and exited the camp himself, intending on catching a rabbit near ThunderClan territory to feed his group.

Meanwhile, in a far denser part of forest, a silver she-cat complained heavily to everyone in her patrol. Her mentor; a russet she-cat with amber eyes, simply resisted the urge to laugh.

"Why do I _have_ to go on this patrol?" the silver she-cat meowed.

"Because," her mentor replied. "Going on patrols is a task every apprentice and warrior must endure to serve their clan. You cannot simply hunt all of the time to provide for your clan. You must also patrol, to insure their safety, as well as filling their bellies when you hunt. Do you understand, Silverpaw?"

Silverpaw groaned and then reluctantly nodded. "Yes, Squirrelfern."

A tom with gray, black and white markings leaned towards Squirrelfern. "Perhaps you should give her a task. She might learn something from it."

Squirrelfern shot an appreciative look to the tom. "Good idea, Quailwhisper." To Silverpaw, she said, "Silverpaw, I have a task for you."

Silverpaw's ears pricked, suddenly interested. "What is it?"

"If you can catch five plump squirrels for your clan, then I will spare you from border patrol for a few days. But if you fail, that deal is off, okay?"

Silverpaw nodded furiously. "Yes, Squirrelfern! Thank you Squirrelfern!" she scampered off.

Quailwhisper chuckled. "Eager, isn't she?"

"That she is. I do hope you are right."

Quailwhisper gave the russet she-cat an affectionate smile. "Now when am I ever wrong?" he purred.

...

"Now, if I just catch one more, then I'll have enough to give to Squirrelfern so I don't have to do patrols for a while," Silverpaw said softly to herself. She'd buried her prey in various locations to keep other predators from eating it. A sound alerted to her to another's presences, and upon scenting the air, she detected a squirrel. She eagerly crouched and stalked towards it, preparing to leap forward and kill it.

Then, just as she was about to leap, a brown shape hurled out of the bushes, materializing into a battered tom with neatly groomed brown fur and a long scar on his face. He bit down on the squirrels neck, killing it instantly. Silverpaw burst out of her spot, outraged. If the tom was surprised, he did not show it.

"That was my squirrel, you mouse brain!" she practically yowled.

The tom blinked, dropping the squirrel at his paws. "I'm sorry, but I was unaware anyone but myself was hunting here."

"This is ThunderClan territory, mouse brain! Not some random, uninhabited neck of the woods. You should've been hunting here in the first place!"

He blinked again. "I believe you are mistaken," he said after a while. "This is the border near ThunderClan. This territory belongs to nobody, but me and my group."

"No, it isn't, prey-stealer!"

"Sniff the air then, if you're so sure."

Silverpaw warily glared at him and did as he said, realizing what he said was true. "I guess you're not stealing prey then," she said reluctantly. "But that was still my squirrel."

The tom's whiskers twitched in amusement. It was then, she noticed his light pink collar, which was studded with the teeth of cats and dogs. She shrieked, unsheathing her claws.

"You-you're a BloodClan warrior, aren't you!" she hissed, bristling.

The tom gave her an odd look. "Yes, once I was."

"What are you doing so close to ThunderClan territory?" she demanded.

The tom's ears lowered a bit in annoyance. "Hunting, same as you. Why is it you immediately assume I'm up to anything, but that?"

"Because you're a BloodClan warrior," she spat. "You're merciless, you're cruel, you're-"

"And I suppose since you're a ThunderClan cat, you must think of yourselves as all high and mighty, hmm?"

Silverpaw's mouth hung open. She did not respond.

The tom rolled his eyes and gave a frustrated sigh. "Look kit, I've got hungry cats to feed. Why don't you go and hunt your own damn squirrel and leave mine alone?"

Silverpaw bristled more. "I am a ThunderClan apprentice, rogue. Not a kit."

"Mhm, and I'm an ex-warrior of BloodClan who'd like to eat some breakfast, now would you please _go_ already?"

Silverpaw's fur flattened. "'Ex' member of BloodClan?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm not technically a BloodClan warrior anymore." he replied, this time much more calm.

"Then why do you still have that collar?" she demanded.

The tom was silent for a minute, before speaking again. "Howsabout this: you tell me why you need the squirrel, and I'll tell you why I kept the collar and stuff. Deal?"

Silverpaw's eyes narrowed. "Deal, I suppose. You first though."

"Fair enough. Okay, so about seven moons ago, a large group of BloodClan cats came through here, seeking to merge with the clan of their choosing. I did not want to join any other clan, and choose to remain as a rogue with my collar on. There were a few others who agreed with my decision, and they stayed with me. So now we live here, at the patch of land ThunderClan doesn't use, and the city- you call it a 'Twoleg place' -living peacefully as we can. As you may have noticed, prey is a little more scarce than usual, so I decided to head out myself to find food. When the first snow comes, my group and I will be moving into the city for leaf-bare. When newleaf comes, we'll come back here. Make sense?"

Silverpaw nodded.

"Good, now your turn."

Silverpaw's ears drooped with embarrassment. "My mentor told me if I could catch five plump squirrels, she'd excuse me from patrols for a few days, since I hate patrols. But now, I think you ought to keep the squirrel. Your need is far greater than mine."

The tom's face softened a bit. "Why, thank you. Might I have a name?"

"Oh, sorry! I'm Silverpaw. And you are?"

"My parents called me 'Bloodfang'," he winced a little. "Sorry if that's a little harsh for you."

"No, no. It's not your fault you were named that. You can keep the squirrel."

"Thank you again, Silverpaw. If you ever wish to speak with me again, or want to call on a favor, just yowl my name over in this neck of the woods." he seemed to smile a bit, picking up his squirrel and bounding off in the opposite direction of Silverpaw.

Silverpaw smiled in his direction. He was a strange cat, but she hoped that he had good hunting. He seemed very honest about his ways.

…

"Ah, so you have decided to return," Squirrelfern teased. "Did you catch all five?"

Silverpaw dropped her four squirrels. "No, Squirrelfern, I didn't. I saw one more, but he got away before I could catch him."

Squirrelfern nodded. "You know that this means you will have to join me on patrols still, right?"

"Yes, Squirrelfern. I understand. And I don't mind so much, anymore." the apprentice picked up her catch without another word and followed the others back to camp.

Squirrerlfern shared a look with Quailwhisper, who looked quite smug. "I told you so," he said, flicking his tail at Squirrelfern affectionately.

She gave him a stern look, but could not help rolling her eyes and smiling too, though less smug than him, perhaps.

…

Upon returning to his group's den, Bloodfang found himself intrigued by the silver she-cat. She had clearly been an apprentice for about two moons, maybe more, by Bloodfang's reckoning. Rat joined him in walking towards the fresh kill pile, not speaking until Bloodfang had dropped his squirrel and selected a thrush.

"I found an abandoned human nest we could use as our winter den," Rat meowed, picking up a mouse for himself.

The two sat in the shade of a tree, and Bloodfang noticed out of the corner of his eye, that Ebony glared at Rat with hostility that he recognized as envy, and powerlust.

 _Don't think about it too much_ , he thought to himself, taking a bite out of the bird. The cat who had caught it had pulled all of the feathers out, and probably had used it for a nest. He swallowed the food, before speaking to Rat. "And there were no other cats inhabiting it, I presume?"

Rat winced. "Well, I didn't exactly say that…"

Bloodfang raised an eyebrow skeptically before taking another bite of the thrush and swallowing. He looked away from Rat before he responded. "Explain."

"Well, you see...a group of cats live there, and they seem pretty hostile towards cats who want to share the space. They look like loners and rouges. Personally, I think we could take them and chase them out but-"

"Are there any kits?" Bloodfang interrupted Rat's rambling.

Rat considered for a minute. Then he nodded very slowly, his posture now that of defeat. Bloodfang sighed, and tapped his tail on the ground while he thought. Finally, after Rat had taken a bite of his mouse, Bloodfang chose to speak.

"If we were to offer our services of protecting them and hunting them...do you think they'd allow us to join them temporarily for the winter?"

Rat attempted to speak with his mouth full but then realized the other cat couldn't understand him. With great effort, he swallowed his mouthful. "It might be possible, but I'd still be cautious. They didn't exactly look at me as if I was a potential new ally. More like a cat they'd have to kill."

"Bad luck of the blood again," Bloodfang murmured.

Rat nodded in agreement, taking another bite of his mouse. All of the cats in the group knew what the phrase meant. Because they'd refused to discard their collars, most cats viewed them as if they were stone cold killers...which they had all been at one point, but no more.

"Bloodfang?" The brooding brown tom turned to a nervous looking she-cat. She had blue fur with stripes of silver and darker blue covering her pelt. Her eyes were amber. "I overheard your suggestion, and I have an idea, if you'd like to hear it."

Bloodfang raised his chin higher and nodded once. "Go ahead, Blink."

Blink nodded nervously, staying silent for a minute before speaking again. "What if we were to send a single, less intimidating cat to speak with them and negotiate terms? If you want, as an added precaution, the cat could take their collar off so as to not scare them off."

Bloodfang considered this. It was the most fool-proof plan he could think of. "Perhaps we should also bring them a bit of food, to show that we mean no harm as well…" he trailed off, and focused on her. "Which cat do you have in mind, Blink?"

She looked a bit startled. "Well, I was thinking maybe I could go."

Blink was a young she-cat, having escaped as a tiny kit with her mother who was now dead, she was looked after by many of the older cats in the group who found her kit-like excitement and playfulness a welcome break from the seriousness of the old ways. She'd been raised by her older sister; a sleek, beautiful she-cat named Jinx, for her ways of trickery. Compared to the others, Blink was as friendly looking as they came. She wore the collar her mother once had; a dark purple one, with the same teeth studied-style the other cats had.

"Very well then. I'll send Rat after you to defend you, should a fight arise." Bloodfang replied.

Blink seemed to brighten noticeably. "Really?"

Bloodfang nodded, whiskers twitching out of humor.

Blink gave a happy squeal and leaned over to give Bloodfang a quick lick on his cheek. "Oh, thank you so much, Bloodfang. I won't let you down!" she scampered off, making several of the other cats in the camp chuckle because of her enthusiastic reaction and fondness for her as a cat.

Rat smiled at Bloodfang, who was wiping the spot where the she-cat had licked him with a paw. "Can't handle a pretty she-cat giving you a little lick, Bloodfang?" he teased.

Bloodfang raised an eyebrow and smiled a little out of humor and admiration that Rat had dared to be humorous with him. Many of the cats showed nothing but respect. He admired the fact that Rat decided to be brave, and try it.

"Well, for starters I think I can handle almost anything that comes my way. Just not a random she-cat licking me."

Rat's smile morphed into a grin, delighted that Bloodfang had returned his humor. "I think I can respect that."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

It was a quarter moon, before Silverpaw remembered Bloodfang's offer. She tried her best to get out of the camp, telling Squirrelfern she was going out to hunt, but the interception of a fluffy white apprentice with hazel eyes; seeing Bloodfang again was proving far more difficult than she anticipated.

"Hey Silverpaw, where are you off to?" the cheerful white apprentice meowed.

Silverpaw bit off a stream of some of her father's favorite curses. "I'm going hunting," she replied.

"Can I join you?" he asked, flashing a smile at her.

Silverpaw's ears flattened a little bit. "Uh, I was hoping to get in some practice on my own, Thawpaw."

Thawpaw's ears drooped. "Oh, I mean, yeah okay. That's fine…."

"Somehow, I highly doubt the queen of hunting needs any extra 'practice', Thawpaw." A smoky gray tom with a white chin that spread to his underbelly and the tip of his tail meowed.

Silverpaw shot him an annoyed look. "Flintpaw, if I needed your opinion, I would've asked for it."

Flintpaw shot her a smug smile. "Ah, but that's the beauty about opinions. You never ask for them, but some cat always ends up giving one to you, eh?"

"Flintpaw!" all of the apprentices winced as Flintpaw's brother; Birchfoot, yowled across the camp. He was a handsome tom; long, slender legs combined with massive shoulders and a white pelt with flecks of black marking it. The scar on his muzzle that went through his mouth only strengthened his good looks.

"As I recall," the older tom meowed. "You have to take care of the elders for a few more days."

"I _have_ been taking care of the elders, Birchfoot." Flintpaw grumbled.

"Then why are you pestering Silverpaw and Thawpaw? You still have work to do!"

Flintpaw shot Birchfoot a dirty look before slinking off. Birchfoot shook his head in disappointment.

"Sorry about that, you two. It'll be a miracle at this point if he ends up becoming a warrior. You can carry on hunting, Silverpaw. Thawpaw, do you want to do some training with me?"

Thawpaw brightened considerably. "Really? You'd be willing to train with me?"

Birchfoot smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

Silverpaw snuck out while Thawpaw was bouncing with excitement. Her paws padded silently through the forest as she headed to the place where she'd first seen Bloodfang. Their scents were still there, old and slightly faded. Silverpaw took a deep breath and began to call for him, like he'd instructed her to.

"Bloodfang! Bloodfang?" she yowled.

There was no response from the underbrush in front of her, and she didn't see his distinct brown-striped pelt, nor see the telltale signs of his dark blue eyes glowing.

 _This is pointless_ , she thought bitterly to herself. Silverpaw got ready to walk back to ThunderClan territory and actually hunt, but a bit of motion caught her eye and she jumped as the tom she'd been calling for, bounded into the small clearing with a combination of grace and power.

"Sorry, did I startle you?" he meowed.

Silverpaw licked her chest a few times. "No, of course not. I'm training to be a ThunderClan warrior."

"Just because you're training to be that, doesn't mean you can't get startled," Bloodfang's whiskers twitched.

Before Silverpaw could shoot an insult at him, he meowed. "Now, what do you want?"

"To talk. You did tell me I could call on you for conversation since I let you have that prey, you know."

Bloodfang blinked. "So I did. Very well then. What do you wish to speak of?"

Silverpaw thought for a moment, before she told him of what had happened before she'd set out of the camp. She told him of her family; her mother and her two younger brothers that had been born a moon before. She told him about clan life. About the drama. And she told him about StarClan.

The entire time, Bloodfang sat there with his bushy tail curled around his paws. His dark blue eyes were fixated on her, absorbing every word; paying attention to everything she said. She seemed so undemanding from the other cats, that she found herself even talking about her older brother; Fawnstream, and her father.

She never usually told anyone about her thoughts, about what she feared, but somehow those dark blue eyes managed to make her completely at ease. In fact, she was so at ease that she lost track of time. It was nearly sundown when she paused with her talking.

"Oh no, I said I was out hunting, but my clanmates will suspect something if I don't come back with more than just a couple rabbits!" she meowed, frantically getting to her paws.

"I'll help. Two cats working is better than one." Bloodfang replied, and disappeared.

Silverpaw was very pleased with the prey she'd caught, but was greatly surprised when Bloodfang approached with a fat rabbit, and several squirrels. Bloodfang's tail always was kept to the ground, as if he was proud of who he was but didn't want anyone to know about it.

"Are you sure you don't want to keep the rabbit for your own group?" Silverpaw asked.

Bloodfang shook his head and dropped the prey down. "If you bring that back to your clan, then perhaps your clan will be more likely to forgive you. Besides, I buried what I caught for my group earlier."

Silverpaw nodded. "I guess you're right. Thank you, Bloodfang." Impulsively, she leaned over and licked his cheek.

His left ear flicked, but he dipped his head. He vanished into the woods, leaving Silverpaw to carry all of her prey back.

…

 _Well, that was certainly interesting,_ Bloodfang thought to himself. To a more bloodthirsty and ambitious cat, Bloodfang was sure they'd be planning an attack on ThunderClan, but he saw no cause for this. They had nothing that interested him. He had everything he needed. But despite that, Bloodfang was no fool. Someday, he wanted to change the ways of BloodClan, and make it better.

But as it was, he needed the support of others in the group. He wanted to gain their support not from fear, but from mutual agreement. But he'd found no cat interested in it.

Bloodfang entered the camp, jaws full of the fresh-kill he'd been hunting before Silverpaw called for him. He was uncertain of the rules of the clans, but he wasn't sure if she was supposed to be seeing him like this, even if it was just harmless chatter. Already, Ebony was approaching him.

Ebony was a large, dark tabby with blue eyes as cold as ice. His left ear was so torn, it was hard to tell if he could use it, and like almost all of the BloodClan cats, his pelt bore the scars of many moons.

"You caught much for the clan today, sir. But I must ask why it took so long for you to return," Ebony asked.

Bloodfang dropped the fresh-kill in the pile they had, and selected a thrush. "I was still hunting, but found no more prey." he replied flatly, going to the mouth of his den to eat.

Ebony followed, selecting a thrush for himself. "Didn't you tell Blink and Rat they were to assist with finding us a winter home?" he asked.

Bloodfang surpassed a torrent of annoyance. Ebony was an ambitious cat. He respected Bloodfang greatly, but considered Rat weak for his reluctance for fighting. Not only that, but as Bloodfang ran the clan nearly by himself, he knew Ebony was doing his best to be chosen as second in command.

"Yes, I did. I believe they set out earlier." Bloodfang replied, his voice devoid of any emotion like always.

"May I inquire as to where we will be staying?" Ebony pursued him.

Before Bloodfang could open his mouth to meow something back at him that might have been unflattering, he was saved by Rat and Blink's re entrance to the clan. The hurried over to him, their eyes bright.

"We've secured a deal with them!" Rat exclaimed when he came close enough.

"Well done, you two. Did they say when we could come?" Bloodfang asked.

"They said at the first snow fall, we could join them," Blink replied, her excitement contagious.

Bloodfang nodded thoughtfully. "Excellent. We'll bring fresh-kill to them when we arrive, so they know we are good hunters.

The three cats around him nodded, although Bloodfang could see Ebony glaring a little at Rat. Blink was too busy staring at Bloodfang to notice, and Rat was never known for seeing the obvious, but Bloodfang decided he wasn't going to have a fight start by pointing it out.

"If you all don't mind, I'd like to eat my prey in peace and quiet," he meowed quietly, and began to eat his thrush.

The others wandered away. It was when they left, he realized he was going to miss Silverpaw, oddly enough.


End file.
